Red
by AGirlWithTheBrokenSmile
Summary: A series of one-shots, based on the album "Red." Multiple pairings.


**Meh, I shouldn't be doing this. But I am anyway. Here goes. **

**Red**

**By: Lily**

**State of Grace**

**Pairing: Luke/Thalia**

_I'm walkin' fast through the traffic lights. _

_Busy streets and busy lives,_

_and all we know is, "Touch and Go."_

The first part of their relationship was rocky and difficult. They were both young, confused and scared. They were running (where - they didn't know) for their lives, avoiding monsters at every corner of every street. They could never stay in one place for too long, and while they were running, they didn't get to know each other.

However, there was one thing they _did _know about each other. They had the same goal: survive the monster attacks and make it to a safe place.

If such a place even existed, they weren't sure. But if it did, they were going to find it, one way or another.

_We alone with our changing minds. _

_We fall in love till it hurts or bleeds or fades in time. _

It happened gradually. They ran for such a long time, and they didn't have many breaks. But when they did, he would attempt to get to know her. She was headstrong and focused, though, and she didn't want to be distracted by Twenty Questions. She _couldn't _be distracted.

But somehow, he managed to. He broke through that outer wall of hers - the one that stood up constantly, made up of steel and tear-soaked whiskey memories, burned into her mind. He somehow got to know her, and he _somehow_, along the way, fell in love with her.

(Well, maybe. He's not quite sure, and neither is she)

It was a difficult love, if it was even that. It was there, in plain sight, but they ignored it. He was too oblivious to know that she felt the same way, and she was too focused to know that _he _felt the same way. But for each of them, it hurt, because they weren't sure if it would ever be put into action, or even requited.

Then, before he could even blink, she was gone.

**Gone**.

She was on the verge of death, fighting for her life (for _his _life) on the top of Half-Blood Hill. Her face was covered in dirt, blood and grime. Her face was morphed into an expression of determination.

But it wasn't determination to get herself out alive. It was determination to get everyone _else _out alive. She distracted the monsters - she held them off - just long enough for him, along with Annabeth and Grover, to enter camp.

Everyone told him that she wasn't gone. Zeus had spared her, and turned her into a pine tree.

But in his mind, she _was _gone. And she was never coming back.

Years passed. As they did, his love for her (was it ever even there?) slowly faded away. They say that time heals all wounds, and he was starting to think that it might be true.

(It really isn't)

_I never saw you coming._

_And I'll never be the same. _

It was silly of her to think she wouldn't ever seem him again. Percy had told her all about him - how he'd turned bad (_bad?_) and had joined up with Kronos (_Kronos?_)

It didn't seem possible. She didn't convince herself that it wasn't, of course, because she's more logical than that, and she knows when to face the facts.

But it still shocked her.

_You come around and the armor falls. _

_Pierce the room like a cannon ball, _

_and all we know is, "Don't let go."_

And when she was up on Mount Tam, fighting alongside the Hunters of Artemis, she saw him, and her heart (for a small moment) stopped. She didn't let her expression break (after all, she's _Thalia_, daughter of _Zeus_) so he couldn't see her resolve crumbling.

She knew that she shouldn't be letting herself feel this way (rule number one in battle strategy - never let your guard down) so she lifted her shield and drew her sword, her expression harder than rock.

She wouldn't lose this battle because of a boy from her past. She _wouldn't_.

_We are alone, just you and me. _

_Up in your room, and our slates are clean. _

_Just twin fire signs, four blue eyes. _

For a moment, everything shifted. She was no longer on Mount Tam, her sword and shield raised for an unpredictable battle. For a fraction of a second, she was back on the run with him, Annabeth and Grover. They were hiding out in an old, abandon house, and they were up in the room he was using. They sat quietly on the bed, not saying a single word.

It was back when they were at least a little more innocent. She was a tad bit more patient and kind (but just a _tad bit_) and he hadn't killed any person (not a soul.)

Up in that room, four blue eyes stared at the ground.

And when she was brought back into the present, those same four blue eyes met once more.

_So you were never a saint, _

_and I've loved in shades of wrong. _

He was never perfect, of course. Then again, neither was she. He was nice and funny, but he had a dark side that she could never figure out. He was willing to go to extremes. She, on the other hand, had a troubled past, and had loved people who hadn't loved her back. She had trust issues, (though she'd never admit it) and never knew when someone really, _truly _cared for her well-being.

_We learned to live with the pain. _

_Mostly of broken hearts. _

_But his love is brave and wild_.

They knew that pain would be inevitable. They'd even gotten used to it. They had learned to expect it, and try to get through it when it ambushed them. It might creep on them, and crash down on them. But they had each other, and even though, at times, they didn't know it, they often leaned on each other for support.

Their relationship was a bit crazy and wild, but it was also brave and noble.

_This is a **state of grace.**_

_This is a **worth while fight. **_

_Love is a **ruthless game, **_

_unless you play it **good and right**._

They both learned that love could be bliss. It could happiness, joy, and it could fill a lot of empty holes, drilled in their hearts by others. But they also learned that love could be ruthless. It could mess with your mind, and tear people apart.

(Just like it tore _them_ apart)

They tried to push past the difficulties, but it was harder than they thought. Love only worked out if you knew how to play it, and they were both young and new to it. It managed to break them apart.

_These are the **hands of fate**._

_You're my **Achilles Heel**._

_This is the **golden age of something good**, _

_and **right** and **real**. _

She wasn't sure how things would turn out, and neither was he. They were both on different sides, fighting for different causes. All they could do was put their fate aside and hope things would turn out okay.

He would always hold a place in her heart, and she would always hold a place in his. They were once close, and deep inside, though they never told anyone, they both hoped that they'd _somehow _be okay once more.

Maybe things would turn out right. Maybe they wouldn't. They could only hope that they would.

* * *

**All rights go to Taylor Swift for the song!**


End file.
